The Boston Red Sox are hunting Pandas and chasing aces. It’s officially the Major League Baseball offseason.
The Red Sox were one of the most active teams at last week’s general managers meetings in Phoenix, with much of the talk centering on Boston’s interest in third baseman Pablo Sandoval and pitcher Jon Lester.
Clearly, the Red Sox are in a position to be active this offseason, whether it be through free agency or trades. As such, new reports seemingly surface every minute. In some cases, those reports conflict.
For example, Dennis O’Donnell of KPIX-TV in San Francisco reported Wednesday, citing two sources, that there’s a “90 percent chance” Sandoval will sign with Boston this offseason. CSNNE.com’s Sean McAdam reported a short time later, citing a source, that the San Francisco Giants still are very much interested in re-signing Sandoval, though it’s unclear how many years they’re willing to offer the 28-year-old.
Nevertheless, it’s apparent the Red Sox are looking to improve their third base situation and their starting rotation before Opening Day. Sandoval and Lester appear to be Boston’s top two targets on the open market.
Could the Red Sox sign both? Absolutely. But what if they miss out on either or both?
NESN.com Red Sox beat writer Ricky Doyle and MassLive.com Red Sox beat writer Jason Mastrodonato chatted Wednesday about Boston’s backup plans in the event Sandoval and/or Lester sign elsewhere. They also touched on this week’s Jason Heyward trade, Giancarlo Stanton’s monstrous contract and what they’d do with $325 million.
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